Landmarks...

Texans like to brag about how big their state is...(unless there is somebody from Alaska around).

But in reality, Texas is just fat and wide...it's not very tall!

In fact the highest spot in Texas is Signal Peak at 8751 ft.

And we can honestly say now, "...We've skied down mountains higher than that!!!"

But Signal Peak is still lovely nevertheless...now part of the Guadeloupe Mountains National Park. 

It's actually at the southern end of the upthrust that is Carlsbad Caverns, just down the road and across the NM border.  With both parks convenient to visit from our spot in Lakewood.






As we've traveled in the west, I find it difficult to glimpse a high spot, a mesa or hill, without immediately thinking of how many travelers from the past may have climbed to the top to pause and gaze...to gain a long view of the country.

        To plan their route...

         Look over the back trail...

         To look for water...

         Something to eat...

         Or a safe place to camp.




And I'm not sure anyone who has never read a Western novel may fully appreciate the western land.

It is eye candy of course, very lovely to see with colored mesas, deep arroyos, dark canyons and large wide open plains - 

But without consideration for the way men and women have struggled to survive...and then learned to thrive with the hostile environment, likely something is missing.

It surely wasn't easy, and they must have been some terribly resilient people!






The Guadeloupe Mountains are like that.  Accessible high spots overlooking wide plains...ideal for gaining a long view.

And also the area selected for one of the earliest ranches in the region, the Frijole Ranch.

It looks pretty dry and barren to my untrained eye.

But this area was selected because of three springs located within a couple of miles...and one of them hidden somewhere in the above picture! 


Look closely at the top of the ridgeline...for what appears to be a little square building, a bright spot, located half way between the center and right edge of the photo.

It is actually a large rock parapet...a sentinel, a key landmark for thirsty travelers.

And landmarks can be the difference between life and death in an unmapped land! 





So searching out that spring was our mission...

Somewhere up there, adventure awaits!

The Guide, (Think she's wondering why I can't keep up!) ..."Come on, it's just a little bit further..." 

"Sure hope we are getting close..."

"Remember, it's in the canyon to the south of the parapet..."

Trust the landmarks!!!

It was interesting how close we were without recognizing the spring...



But once we knew where it was, it was so obvious... 



With trees and bright greenery huddled close around the water...




We still have so much to learn! 









A small, cool oasis in a dry, windblown high desert...

It came to mind, Louis L'Amour saying the right thing to do once you finished drinking from a watering hole, was to move back away before setting up camp, to allow the wild animals, the coyotes, the cats, the deer to drink also.



And as we rested by that spring of life, I found myself pondering...finding it comforting, and easy to be reflective at times like this...

       How many may have looked to those same landmarks?

       Where were they from...where were they going? 

       And just who were they, those that visited this so ancient place

...from times long since forgotten...



Let the adventure continue...